By Nick van Buuren
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The surf industry established itself by predominantly selling boardshorts and t shirts - modelled by the iconic wave masters of the 70s and 80s. This trend continued into the 90's, and as a kid, jealously and eagerness fueled your seldom Sunday's; viewing the world’s best, surfing the world’s best waves in a pair of boardies. You aspired to surf perfect waves off a boat in the 30 degree Maldivian heat, but it felt dreamlike and unreachable... in reality you were waxing up your Bic Minimal in the driving Devon rain, wading out into 1-2ft crumble.
Looking back, I'm glad it was that way - flexing a raw passion for the sport through pure enjoyment; a 1-wave mentality, where just one good ride is enough to make the often 3/4 hour trip/session more than worthwhile. What I would've changed however is my post and pre-surf attire; the ill-fitted Billabong tee, baggy Quiksilver 3/4 lengths trousers, and Animal wristbands. It didn't keep you warm and on reflection, didn't look good.
The clothes advertised by the core surf brands (and featured heavily across surf shops and magazines in the UK) were suited for the occasional summer day, perhaps a dog walk... and that's it. The big 4 at the time (Rip Curl, Billabong, Quiksilver, O'Neill) demonstrated to cooler regions of the world that they didn't fully understand their global consumers, and instead based their product lines on their local Californian / Australian weather. It was frustrating; there was nothing out there for the British surfer, no cold-water focussed surf brand.
Fast-forward to today, and it’s a very different story. Patagonia and Finisterre in particular are two brands who have capitalised on this demand, producing good-looking, durable, protective clothing lines that have the cold-water surf community purring. It has unlocked so much opportunity; it has allowed people surf longer, and explore the extreme cold - suddenly places like Iceland, Norway, Russia, Alaska, and Canada are ranked among some of the world’s best breaks.
Cold-water surf exploration is now trending and people can't get enough of it - articles, crazy stories and epic photos and videos are appearing all over the web and surf media. Produced by a number of surf brands trying to capitalise on this boom, the content features extraordinary cold-water/weather feats: paddling around ice-blocks, wading through snowy beaches often miles from civilisation. You'd expect standards to drop in the born-chilling temperatures, but thanks to moderns technology and cold-water clothing lines; performance innovation thrives.
So with the rise of cold weather surf tech, comes the rise of cold water surfing itself. Thank you to the sub-zero surf innovators of today - you have shown the warm water brands of the past that investing time in understanding your wider audiences can bear financial fruit, unearth influential new trends and movements, but fundamentally and most importantly, inspire people to go surfing more than ever.
By Nick van Buuren